Best Watch for the Job?
I keep getting this advertisement for IFL watches that shows a Casioak with a hand painted dial. I am somewhat of an artist and it makes me really want to try painting a watch dial! That being said, I have never done any modding, so I thought I would seek all of your advice. What do you think would be the best watch for a project like this? The Casioak does seem like a good choice since people do have parts to mod them. Is there another watch that would be better for someone with no modding experience? Or a watch with a big blank dial that would make a good canvas? Or a watch, possibly vintage, that has an awesome case or bracelet? Maybe something I haven’t thought of that would make it the best candidate? What are your thoughts?
Quirky quartz quollector (but not exclusively...)
The CasiOak seems like the perfect canvas
Having also done one mod so far - I think the Casioak is probably one of your best candidates. As far as I can tell there are really not a lot of watch models in the world that have developed a truly robust modding scene.
Anything that fits around a Seiko NH35 movement (availability of these parts is endless and props up a great deal of the "professional" watch industry)
The Casioak
I see a fair number of Casio Royale parts?
Vostoks also take Seiko SKX bezel inserts, apparently
Truly crafty people can mod anything, and fluent Mandarin speakers can at least order anything. But these specific product lines seem to have inspired the largest amateur modding community because they're all cheap. That's great because watch modding is unforgiving, at least compared to my other meticulous, fine-detail-oriented hobbies - it's smart to budget assuming that you'll need two of everything that you touch. (My bezel mod ended up being a full bezel replacement after I bent the original out of shape.)
It's also good practice to find cheap vintage watches and tear them down at home - that's what I'm currently doing. I'm not sure how large my body count will have to be before I feel comfortable touching anything that I intend to keep. Definitely pay for specialized crystal press and hand setting tools.
Anyway, uh, if not the Casioak, you can create a Seiko SKX clone in pretty much any shape and configuration you want. One smart tip I've heard is that many AliExpress dive watches in the $100 range are made entirely out of aftermarket SKX mod parts, and they cost significantly less than all the bits purchased individually would. But I think the plastic-fantastic, kind of stern style of the Casioak would pair really well with a bold hand-painted dial.
I would start with one of the bazillion $10 dials for NH35/28.5mm you can find on Aliexpress before trying on an OEM part.
Removing and replacing hands is a real PITA when you start modding, and usually the step where beginners irreversibly damage dials/hands. Watch a lot of tutorials and be very patient.
I would second the NH35 suggestion for starting, since the options for dials, cases and hands are large, and not expensive. Both AliExpress and eBay are great consolidator of various suppliers for parts and tools. As an example, NH35 cases typically go for $20-50, with the movement around $25 and dials $10-$30. For a 7750, cases go around $150-$200, movement around $300-400 and dials around $50. Not to mention while placing 7750 hands it’s much easier to break things (DAMHIK).
Yeah, I would start by buying a few cheap dials and just experimenting with painting them. Once you actually produce something you love, you can start thinking about installing it in a watch. But obvs choose dials where the watches are not too expensive so it's not the end of the world if you ruin one.
You can buy blank Casioak dials from SKXMOD that aren’t too pricey. That would be a good canvas to start with. And based on their videos, the buy in for dial replacement/modding seems pretty low. I’ve been thinking about doing the same thing.
With the exception of fairly cheap Casio mods, watch modding seems like an expensive hobby to jump in to.
Having also done one mod so far - I think the Casioak is probably one of your best candidates. As far as I can tell there are really not a lot of watch models in the world that have developed a truly robust modding scene.
Anything that fits around a Seiko NH35 movement (availability of these parts is endless and props up a great deal of the "professional" watch industry)
The Casioak
I see a fair number of Casio Royale parts?
Vostoks also take Seiko SKX bezel inserts, apparently
Truly crafty people can mod anything, and fluent Mandarin speakers can at least order anything. But these specific product lines seem to have inspired the largest amateur modding community because they're all cheap. That's great because watch modding is unforgiving, at least compared to my other meticulous, fine-detail-oriented hobbies - it's smart to budget assuming that you'll need two of everything that you touch. (My bezel mod ended up being a full bezel replacement after I bent the original out of shape.)
It's also good practice to find cheap vintage watches and tear them down at home - that's what I'm currently doing. I'm not sure how large my body count will have to be before I feel comfortable touching anything that I intend to keep. Definitely pay for specialized crystal press and hand setting tools.
Anyway, uh, if not the Casioak, you can create a Seiko SKX clone in pretty much any shape and configuration you want. One smart tip I've heard is that many AliExpress dive watches in the $100 range are made entirely out of aftermarket SKX mod parts, and they cost significantly less than all the bits purchased individually would. But I think the plastic-fantastic, kind of stern style of the Casioak would pair really well with a bold hand-painted dial.
Thank you for the wealth of information! It is very helpful!
I would start with one of the bazillion $10 dials for NH35/28.5mm you can find on Aliexpress before trying on an OEM part.
Removing and replacing hands is a real PITA when you start modding, and usually the step where beginners irreversibly damage dials/hands. Watch a lot of tutorials and be very patient.
Yeah, I was thinking I would just get some dials and have a watch repairman put the dial in the watch once I had one I was happy with.
I would second the NH35 suggestion for starting, since the options for dials, cases and hands are large, and not expensive. Both AliExpress and eBay are great consolidator of various suppliers for parts and tools. As an example, NH35 cases typically go for $20-50, with the movement around $25 and dials $10-$30. For a 7750, cases go around $150-$200, movement around $300-400 and dials around $50. Not to mention while placing 7750 hands it’s much easier to break things (DAMHIK).
Seems like the consensus is Casioak or NH35. I will be looking around at both!
Yeah, I would start by buying a few cheap dials and just experimenting with painting them. Once you actually produce something you love, you can start thinking about installing it in a watch. But obvs choose dials where the watches are not too expensive so it's not the end of the world if you ruin one.
I had the same thought! Thank you for the idea!
You can buy blank Casioak dials from SKXMOD that aren’t too pricey. That would be a good canvas to start with. And based on their videos, the buy in for dial replacement/modding seems pretty low. I’ve been thinking about doing the same thing.
With the exception of fairly cheap Casio mods, watch modding seems like an expensive hobby to jump in to.
I will check that out for sure! I really don't want to sink a lot of money into it before finding out whether I enjoy it or not! Thanks!
Get a homage from Ali express and mod it. You get cases that are expensive, standard movements and hardware that’s exotic.